From the Sky
by RiverTear980
Summary: Rena is a young mercenary girl from a clan that not everyone approves of. When everything starts going wrong, what will help her? MalikxOC, AU. EDITED!
1. Chapter 1

**I needed to edit... a lot to go about this story as I originally intended to. Alright? Not _too_ many changes, just a couple.**

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><p><strong>From the Sky. <strong>

The air was quiet. Too quiet. A lone girl, her mid-length brown hair flowing lightly in the still air and green eyes narrowed intimidatingly, moved silently through the thick cover of trees and brush towards her target. The darkness of the night concealed her further. When she deemed her general proximity sufficient, she drew her long sword from its hilt. The target twitched at the sudden break from solitude, and without attempting to grab it's possessions, started running swiftly away. The girl was faster though. She quickly caught up, and tore it's head away from the body with her sword.

"Target exterminated." she muttered under her breath. She removed a small cloth from her cloak and began systematically wiping the dark blood from the blade.

"No hesitation as always, eh Rena?" A male voice called from within the trees.

Rena closed her eyes after she finished cleaning her sword.

"What do you want, Jonathan?" she murmured with very little patience. He walked out of the brush, revealing a very well built man wearing black and red ceremonial armour and holding a long staff. His hair was very short and raven black, and his eyes were pure blue. They glistened in the moonlight as he walked closer.

He whined over-emotionally, dripping with sarcasm.

"Surely you can't be so cold to your soul brother, right?"

She scoffed slightly.

"What you mean by means of brethren is completely contrary to the generally known definition. Now answer the question: what do you want with me?"

Jonathan's demeanour flipped from comedic to serious.

"Whyt wants to see you. He says that it's important."

Rena peered up slowly, then shook her head in disapproval.

"I'm still in a mission. I can't delay my work to appease him. Why doesn't he get someone else to do whatever he needs me to do?"

"He says that it is crucial that you do this."

Sighing gently, she sheathed her sword and turned to Jonathan.

"Give me until sunrise. I will return to camp by then. Finishing these bandits off will not take long."

Jonathan smirked slightly, and turned away into the woods.

"See you later then, Rena."

He then disappeared into the night. Rena sighed, dusted off her pale leather armour, and jumped through the tree branches in the opposite direction.

"I'll finish quickly and get back to camp. See what Whyt wants with me this time."

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><p>The band of thieves were not difficult to deal with. Rena still had several hours before sunrise when she returned to camp.<p>

It was only a small collection of tents and huts. Each tent was marked with a unique flag; which was used to indicate whose living quarters was whose. As She approached her tent, Rena noticed something; nobody was in sight. Generally there were people practicing artillery, creating new weapons, or simply standing around talking to others. But this morning it was desolate. This made her incredibly nervous. _'Was there a raid while I wasn't here? Where is everyone?_' she thought to herself. Pushing aside the drapes to her tent, there was one thing profoundly different about her home. In the middle of the small silk-laced chamber, sat Whyt.

Whyt was an older man, hair slightly greying and shrinking frame. He wore dark red chest plates and a black cape. His musky blue eyes narrowed at her as she approached him slowly with my guard up.

"Really, Rena? Fear me not. You have been chosen for something of great honour."

Rena stared at him.

"What do you mean, "Chosen"?" she asked. "And where is everyone else?

Whyt laughed dryly. Standing up and facing her, he slammed his hands on her armour-covered shoulders. Rena winced slightly; Whyt's years did nothing to diminish his strength.

"The time has come for you to leave this clan. The King has summoned you to court. In short, you will directly serve the monarchy beginning tomorrow!"

Needless to say, Rena was happy. To be selected for this honour was certainly enviable. However, something within her subconscious was telling her that something was odd about the occurrences. The King never took emissaries from the clan. They did things outside the law and didn't cooperate with the rest of society!

With a face as stagnant as ever, Rena looked down to Whyt, and murmured suspiciously

"Why me? Surely there are better soldiers suited for this task."

Whyt ignored the comment and continued on.

"Have all of your things packed and be prepared to leave before midday." He released her from his death-grip and parted the door linens. "Do not disappoint me."

Chills ran down Rena's spine as he left. She had no position to oppose him. He was the Clan Leader, and had absolute authority over it and all its conditions.

She grudgingly began to gather her possessions together. At midday, she left the small encampment in silence, and never returned.

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><p>Rena arrived at the royal city by the next morning. A young guard sentry-man nodded at the mercenary politely before allowing her entrance. As she passed through the golden entwined gates, she felt an unfamiliar feeling of discomfort radiating everywhere. <em>'Something...is not right."<em> she thought to herself. Many nobles within the palace snuck glances at her as she passed. Others whispered between each other. Rena trudged on, trying her hardest to ignore the gawking nobility.

"You must be that missionary girl the King called for, am I correct? What is your name?"

She jumped slightly at the sudden voice.

_'How could someone sneak up on me like that? I didn't even sense his presence!'_

Whipping around swiftly, an older soldier stood rigidly in front of her. She snarled silently at herself for not noticing him prior.

"Who are you to ask my identity? It is courteous to state your own name before asking someone else's."

The soldier chuckled unamused.

"Clever. However, my name is unimportant. You, however, are Rena from the Kazeshini clan. The King wishes to speak with you concerning your first duty." The soldier began walking away. Before he was out of sight, he turned back to her and murmured, "And I suggest you hop to it; he is not a necessarily patient man."

Shivers ran up Rena's spine as he spoke. She hustled along to the throne room, where the King sat waiting.

The throne room was extravagant: crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, detailed tapestries on the walls, and an overall feeling of superiority was exuded from everything in the hall. On the far end, a man sat on a throne, holding himself high and mighty. Rena approached the man slowly, not wanting to intrude over her place.

The King looked down at her with a sour sneer. His iron stare bored into Rena with the intensity of a herd of elephants.

"So, you're that assassin."

She resisted the urge to retaliate angrily.

"I-I'm a mercenary, not an assassin."

"They are one in the same. You will kill for money. My duty for you, girl, is simple. You must annihilate a village for the kingdom."

Rena allowed her face into a frown. _'Annihilation?' _she thought.

"Which village, your Highness?"

He smiled sadistically before pointing towards the map on the stand in front of her. She peered down curiously, then gasped.

'_This is-'_

"Looks familiar, doesn't it? It should- it's your former home!" he laughed loudly.

Rena starting backing away, only to be grabbed by familiar hands. _'Whyt?'_

"This insolent child won't do anything of the sort! I shall do it in her place!" Whyt shouted maniacally.

"W-Whyt! Why are you here? What are you saying? How could you-"

Before she could even attempt to stop her leader, he was gone. Ran off with his sword in hand. Tears tugged at her eyes as she knew that there was no stopping the inevitable fate Whyt would force upon everyone she held dear. Her mind wandered; _Jonathan... Whyt liked him. Would he still murder him in cold blood?_ Shivers went through her entire body; which was threatening to collapse. Her tears broke loose, and ran as fast as she could after him.

Everything went black after that.

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><p>When she had recovered from her black-out, she found herself running.<p>

"Where...am I?" she muttered under her breath. "And where am I going?" Despite her confusion, she made no attempt to stop. She ran and ran until she couldn't move her legs anymore. Gasping for air, she took time to try and figure out where she had ended up. The scenery around her was completely foreign. Large rocks stood upright around her, creating a large circle with three taller rocks in the center. Ornate pattern covered each stone slab and the entire area emitted a strange sense of serene grace. It was as if life was swirling in between the erected stones. The sun had long since set, and the full moon and stars dotted the sky, illuminating the area dimly. As Rena wandered through it in a daze, a strange light started coming from the center stones; coincidentally where she was standing now. Within seconds, Rena fell into an odd, spiralling tunnel through time and space.

"What's going on? What is this?" she screamed inwardly. Nothing took heed to her cries, though. The gates of the dimension closed, leaving the stone slabs melancholic and indifferent to the events that had just occurred.

A shadow emerged from behind the trees. It swayed to and fro as it approached the dais. As it entered the moonlit zone, its familiar armour-clad form was revealed. In its hand was a long staff adorned with ceremonial symbols, and his face was covered in blood and tears.

"_Rena... I hope that by sending you to the other world, you will be able to leave these bloodstained memories behind and be happy. In spite of what my heart desires, I hope we never meet again_."

_**To be continued...**_

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><p><strong>AN:**

**Riv: This is the first of many instalments for this story. I really hope you liked what I have written so far. And...um... yeah! The plot will continue accelerating, and Malik-chan shall do a happy-go-lucky disclaimer!**

**Malik: Don't call me 'chan'! ... *sigh* RiverTear980 owns nothing other than Rena, Jonathan, Whyt, the King and the plotline. Actually, she owns everything in this chapter! How about that? Oh, wait. She doesn't own the Tales of Symphonia reference to the Otherworldly Gate. Or a soul. She still doesn't have one of those.**

**Riv: ...Shush. So, everyone! Please review! I want to know if there is anything I can improve upon in this story! Reviewers shall receive cookies! I love you all o FT o**

**Akane: Ok, now you sound like a creeper.**

**Riv: So, put this story on your favourites, alerts, and review it ^^ You guys make me so happy to be alive~**

**Bakura: *pushes Riv off a cliff* There. Now stop writing stupidly long author's notes and get back to writing real things that are relevant and contain me!**

**Everyone: *facedesk***


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello everyone! This is the sorta-awaited chapter 2! Woot! First of all, I shall respond to my lovely reviewers:**

**Fire Ice and Snowcones: **Yup, she is the Yu-Gi-Oh OC equivalent of such notable swordsmen such as Kratos Aurion (Tales of Symphonia (AND DAMN SEXY oFTo)), Luke Fon Fabre (Tales of the Abyss (but not so bitchy then magically not bitchy once he cuts his hair. SERIOUSLY, WTF IS WITH THAT?)) Cress Albain(?) (Tales of Phantasia (is without a funny/crude comment for him)) or Link (Legend of Zelda (but she actually talks.)) LOL

**The Duelist's Heiress: **Yes. Yes you will enjoy this.

Malik: I COMMAND YOU!

Riv: And thanks so much ^^ It really makes me happy reading comments like that!

**IncurablyAwesome:***GLOMPS BACK* Whoohoo, Malaysia was amazing! But the sun wasn't something seen all of the time -_-' And yes, I was there for marching band. For you/anyone interested, go to YouTube and type in "WCMSB 2011 Grand Final Stetson" It just proves that we have no lives whatsoever xD And Rena appreciates the compliment! She's asleep right now, and I'm not going to wake her up at the moment. She's scary if someone wakes her up... And Whyt...may be back. Mwahahahaha... And yes, cliffhangers are my form of crack. And I love my crack~!

JK I DO NOT CONDONE DRUG USE IN ANY WAY. I AM PRO-NATURAL HAPPY. DON'T SUE ME.

**Ok, so now that I have Malik tied up and duct taped, let's start this crazy ass motherfu-**

**Malik: ADO!**

**Riv: ... Just... read the fic. I need to get my chainsaw.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

A young man stood over the edge of the bridge, staring intently at the raging waters below. He clutched at the side rails until his normally tanned skin turned an uncomfortable shade of white. Blonde tufts of hair cascaded down his neck and face; the latter hiding his eyes from the rest of the world. They were cold and dark, searching through his soul for the resolve his heart needed to jump.

"Why has everything gone so wrong since then? Why?" he murmured to himself. He brought himself back through his ever-present, ever-repeating memories.

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><p><strong>{Flashback}<strong>

_I stood with my twin brother side by side in the dark abyssal underground. The air was cold and musky having never known the warmth and freshness of the outside world. Dimly lit torches were the only things lighting the corridor in which they stood. A black hooded figure emerged from the darkness with a knife in hand. As he became visible, I held onto my brother's hand tighter in fear. The figure smiled demonically, and asked unnervingly,_

_"So, who wants to be first?"_

_Brother pushed be away before shouting,_

_"No, Father! You can't do this! What you're doing is wrong!"_

_My father laughed maniacally before grabbing the boy's spiky blonde hair with force._

_"I thought I heard a volunteer!"_

_He struggled fiercely to get away, but was unable to do so before the knife made contact with his bicep._

_"Mariku!" I shrieked in fear._

_Mariku snarled in pain, but was slowly losing his ability to resist against his Father's pull towards the darkened door._

_"M-Malik..."_

_I stared paralyzed, frightened to death not only by my father, but also the idea of my brother being stabbed and tortured. But what scared me the most was the face of absolute abandonment on Mariku's face as he was dragged into the temple room where he, and inevitably I too, would be cut by father's knives._

_Mariku was never the same after that day. We both had to endure our father's vicious torture, but Mariku took more pain than I ever did. The whole ordeal made him cold and angry inside. Everything that our father did to us was taken to him tenfold, until he broke._

_And I don't mean literally._

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><p><em>"Get up, brat!" Father screamed, "I'm not done yet, not by a long shot!"<em>

_Mariku grunted in exhaustion. Strips of ripped skin hung off his already scarred back and arms, dripping in fresh shed blood. Sweat covered his entire body, making the injuries sting painfully. I could do nothing but lie in the corner of the chamber, watching with teardrops falling from my eyes. Then, I saw an odd flash in my brother's purple irises; as if some sort of idea came to mind. I didn't see exactly how it happened, but the next thing I knew, Father was dead, and Mariku had a scary looking smile on his face. Father's body was covered in blood from head to toe from a massive slash that went from his receding hairline to his abdomen, pouring blood everywhere, and his face was drawn into a terrified expression with stretched out eyes and a gaping jaw. Turning back to Mariku, after being unable to look at the mutilated body anymore, I saw his true expression: horror. His body twitched violently when he saw me staring at him terrified. Honestly, I don't blame him for being scared; our father was absolutely horrible to us. However, I to this day, don't know if killing him was the best solution. Clearly, he knew that as well, but was unable to contain his apparent rage. He started pacing slowly towards me. I truly wanted to embrace my twin, but my mind and heart opposed each other and I started backing away in panic. Mariku was crestfallen, and he too backed away, but faster. I heard him whisper "I'm so sorry" as he moved away into the labyrinth of shadows._

_"O-onii-chan! Wait!"_

_My cry was unheard by him. I never saw my brother again._

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><p><em>"I hate you! Everything about you disgusts me!"<em>

_I winced slightly at each word. My girlfriend and first love, Anzu, was always sporadic, but she had never been this angry before. Seeing her in such a state of rage made me feel like such a weak person. Not only the fact that I could do nothing to stop her cursing, but that I submitted to and believed in what she said really got to me._

_"I don't know what I ever saw in you, Malik. When I look at you, all I see is ugliness and grotesque forms. Your soul is dirty and unimaginably disgusting as well." she spat._

_"I-I'm sorry, Anzu..." I murmured. I didn't know what else to say other than apologizing. I wanted to appease her so that she would stop saying such hurtful things that my heart took as true._

_The desired effect wasn't the real outcome._

_"Don't you dare say my name ever again. I hope I never see you again either." Anzu growled menacingly. I twitched backwards, irked by her icy glare. She grunted in exasperation before whipping around and disappearing into the suburban streets of Domino. I lowered my head in submission and tears began streaming down my face like a waterfall._

_'There goes the rest of my life.' I thought to myself. 'I'm not even sure what I did to upset her so much... But I know now that I will never be counted as a friend in that little group. She was always the one that everyone believed unconditionally. What now?...' I felt even more tears of despair run down my face. 'I have nobody now. Nii-chan is gone, Anzu is gone; there's no one left for me now...'_

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><p>Malik had his resolve. He would jump into the river, and depending on what happened from there, he would drown himself, or let his rock-battered body simply bleed out until he died.<p>

_**Simple**_.

He took a deep breath as he climbed onto the railing. Swaying slightly, he readied himself to jump.

"Concentrate... Concentrate... Con-"

Any attempt at focus was broken when a glimmer of light passed by him. It circled around in front of him and then flashed again as it rammed into his abdomen. The force pushed Malik off the edge of the barrier and back on the bridge. Landing with a sickening thud, the blond was in a total daze. A weight pressed against his body, keeping it trapped on the ground. Trying to see what pushed him, he was shocked and confused to see a girl with mid-length brown hair and strange armored clothing laying on him, asleep. She glowed with a strange radiance that Malik couldn't even muster a guess at the origin.

"A-an angel?" he sputtered. She didn't move or speak, but continued breathing lightly. Malik swallowed his disbelief and gently pulled the girl off of him. It was a bit difficult at first though; her strange armor and random weapons made the task sluggish. At this point, he managed to catch a good look at the mystery girl. She seemed...human, no protruding wings or limbs out of place, yet something seemed almost unearthly about her to Malik. 'No, I must be imagining things. But she did fall from the sky...' he thought.

Suddenly, the girl began to stir in her sleep. Malik twitched slightly in surprise, but otherwise stayed calm.

"W-who are you?" he muttered. The girl moaned a bit before fluttering her eyelids open. Cat-like green eyes pierced into Malik's smoky purple eyes and there was a moment of pause.

"I... My name? I-I don't know."

Malik shook his head in frustration.

"What do you mean, you don't know? Don't you have a name?"

The girl blinked dumbly at him.

"I don't know. I just...can't remember anything. Everything's either blurry or blank."

Malik groaned inwardly for a moment before standing up, reawakening the sore muscles that had arisen when the girl fell on him. He cleared his throat slightly to attempt making his words a little more confident.

"Well, do you know where you are?" The shine in her eyes faded for a moment before responding.

"I remember a place with tall rocks that jutted out against the sky. The shadows cast over the plateau created a rune on the ground. That's it."

"I've never heard of anything like that. Are you sure that's where you came from?"

The girl nodded heavily.

"That's the only thing I am sure of at the moment. By the way, you never stated your name. Don't you realize that it's rude to ask someone else's name before stating your own?"

Malik smirked as he thought to himself _'The girl has spunk, I can say that much._'

"My name is Malik."

She smiled slyly before saying

"Well Malik, it has been a rather odd pleasure meeting you. Now, I really must be going." She stood up quickly before wavering from the immediate rush of blood from her brain. Malik grasped onto her armor-clad shoulders to support her, but was quickly brushed away. Malik was taken aback by her rather cold intent, and it went without notice from the girl.

"B-but where are you going? If you don't know where you are, and who for that matter, you're going to be in danger if you're alone!"

She peered briefly at me before turning back around.

"I do appreciate your intention to help me, but I really can't accept so much kindness. I hate to be indebted to anyone, and this is no exception."

Malik's body stiffened. _'She's so concerned about that? Why?'_

"Then I propose a deal." he declared. She stood still, gazing decisively into Malik's deep purple eyes. "I will help you until you get your memory back if you..help out with some things. Do we have an accord?"

She was silent for a moment before murmuring, "... I agree to your terms."

Malik smiled. It was an expression that he never thought would come to his face after all that had happened. A random idea came to his mind.

"What should I call you as a name until you remember your own?" The girl shrugged in nonchalance. He smirked slightly, then whispered audibly, "I'm going to call you Tenshi; angel. After all, you did just stop me from probably doing something beyond stupid."

The brunette smiled gently, and nodded. Malik _knew_ that his life would never be the same again.

_To be continued..._

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><p><strong>AN:**

**Riv: And ****this**** is why when you see Egyptians walking around, you hug them. They may have sad pasts like that too. Hehe... Random thing, I have a poll on my profile concerning a new series I'm planning to write...eventually. I want ****your**** input on what shipping I should do! You know you want to vote on it~~~**

**Ryou: Do it. She's scary.**

**Riv: *revs chainsaw* I'm not **_**that**_** scary, Ry-chan! Ah yes, Malik~~~~~~~**

**Malik: ...yes master?**

**Riv: Hug?**

**Malik: ...No thank you.**

**Riv: D:**

**Review to make me happy again? I like hugs too. Hug in a review? That combo is the yahoo yacht to my woot canoe. And a yahoo yacht is soooo much cooler than a woot canoe.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Update desu is long since overdue. Blame the lack of inspiration and spending too much time writing other things. BLAME!**

**Review responses desu :D**

**Fire Ice and snowcones: **HURRAY! *hug*

**Stormygio: **Whoops. I left the knife in my sweater when I hugged you. *looks down on Stormy-chan's bleeding body* My bad... And don't worry, what little miss Anzu did will be unveiled... soon!

**IncurablyAwesome: **TROLOLOLOL! I love reading your reviews! You're always so funny ^^ Funny is fun...ny. And the unseen ninja will kill all those that oppose me... ehehehehe... Be very careful, flamers...

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><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

_Flames._

_The stench of burning flesh._

_Terrified screams coming from every direction._

_All of these things forced its way through Rena's senses and instantly overwhelmed her. She longed to run away; and so many times she tried, but something kept her tied to where she was standing. The girl couldn't even shut her eyes either. It was as if her eyelashes had melted into her skin, holding them securely open._

_A shifting silhouette came towards her through the searing flames. It moved inconsistently, stumbling left and right with every step. When it came into direct view, it was an older man with eyes shining demonically with the color of blood gleaming in his irises. His approach seemed slow, but within moments he was up against her pale face, his breathing erratic and foul-smelling. Nothing was visible about his face other than his eyes, and he was clothed head to toe in armour. There was no way that she could identify the mysterious figure._

"_You poor, naive child..." he growled. "You were supposed to kill us all, tear us away from this fate of hunting and killing men for pay... Every last putrid soul was to perish by _your _sword tonight."_

_The brunette snarled irritated. She now knew who this person was._

"_How could you expect me to follow an order like that, Whyt! What kind of human would murder her friends, family, and everything she ever held dear? I'm not you; I'm not a demon!"_

_Whyt chuckled. He punched her in the abdomen, winding and knocking her down to the burning forest floor. By now he was laughing maniacally and had an expression of pure insanity written on his face._

"_But you _love_ killing, Rena dear! Don't you remember those 'thieves' you killed earlier? They were only poor merchants trying to support their families! The 'bandits'? A town watch for a rural village in the east!" _

_She gasped in disbelief. _'Is this really-'

"_Don't you see? You've already killed so many innocent people on my order, so what are a few more bodies to the mound?"_

_There was a blood-stained dagger in his clutches. It was raised, aimed to kill. _

_This can't be the end, could it?_

_She slammed my eyes shut, not wanting to witness a cruel scrap of metal pierce her skin repeatedly. _

_The impact never came though._

_A sharp gust of wind rushed past her, followed by the feeling of something wet falling on her skin and clothing. _

_Rena was so scared. Too scared to open her eyes, but scared to not know what happened._

_As she slowly cracked her eyelids open, she was completely shocked to see Whyt sprawled on the ground, blood pouring from his throat. _

'How the hell did this happen?' _she wondered, my heart still beating quickly and breathing raspy._

"_Rena? Are you alright?"_

'I know that voice'_ she thought to herself in realization. She darted her eyes up to see the one person she thought she would never see again: Jonathan. He was covered in blood; presumably Whyt's, but Rena couldn't be too sure. She crawled slowly towards him, still unable to stand and shaking._

"_J-Jonathan..." she whispered. He dropped to the ground beside her and pulled her into a tight hug. _

"_You're alright... Thank God." he sighed heavily in relief. "When I saw the smoke, I had no idea what happened."_

"_It was supposed to be me..." she muttered. The blonde stared at her incredulously. "_I_ was ordered to destroy the village... I refused, and then Whyt ran back here. I tried to stop him; I really did, but it was too late." She looked around in despair. "Everyone's dead because of me; because I couldn't stop Whyt."_

"_...I'll free you from this." Jonathan decreed silently. Rena gazed questioningly at his fair face. He placed a hand on her head and closed his eyes. Before she knew it, she too had closed her eyes, unconscious._

"_Να είναι απαλλαγμένα από__αυτές τις__αναμνήσεις που__θα__δεσμεύουν__." He spoke the incantation as his hand glowed and poured energy into Rena. After a few seconds, he pulled away and picked the brunette mercenary up. "I'll escort you to the Gate. You'll be free once you wake up."_

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><p><strong>AN:**

**Translation note: Jonathan says "Be free from these memories that bind you."**

**Riv: If you don't quite understand what is going on, this is basically set in the timeline of chapter 1. Trust me, this is relevant...somehow. Short chapter is short.**

**Akane: I disclaim! Riv owns EVERYTHING in this chapter! ZOMR THE WORLD IS ENDING! Just kidding. She owns most of it though... that's still so weird.**

**Riv: Win desu. **

**Remember to review, and vote on the poll if you haven't already ^^**


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